Optical illusions are a fun way to see the difference between how our brain perceives the world and how the world actually looks.

In other words, optical illusions are your brain f***ing up.

Illusion 1

Now here's a question for you.

Which square is darker? A or B?

The answer...

They're exactly the same color.

Wow!

The reason your brain thinks there's a difference is in the edges.

Your brain pays more attention to sharp edges than to fuzzy ones like shadows.

This is the perfect example of your brain doing what it's best at.

Breaking down information and filling in the gaps.

So even though A and B are indeed the same color value,

your brain knows that if that shadow were taken away...B would indeed be lighter.

So though your brain ''messing up'', it's actually being pretty smart.

It's inferring information that isn't actually there.

This... is the rotating snakes illusion.

Believe it or not, this is actually a still image...

The more your eyes move, the more the circles move.

But if you look at the white dot in the center of the circle,

the movement will slow down and stop.

We don't definitively know why your brain sees motion when there isn't any.

Researches are still looking into it.

But it's still pretty cool, right?

Illusion3

So this one is clearly a picture of a...

Well that's the thing half of you probably saw a vase and the other half...

Probably saw

Huh, it's two faces.

It all depends on whether you're looking at the black or the white.

This happens because your brain is trying to distinguish between a foreground and a background.

Even if a foreground and background isn't there.

It's a great example of how your brain desperately tries to turn abstract shapes into something that actually makes sense.

Sort of like how you can imagine seeing animals in clouds.

Now if you'll excuse me...I have things to go blow up!